The 27th Annual World Community Film Fest is coming up in Courtenay

By Keith and Heather Nicol

    A couple of days ago we picked up a copy of the 27^th Annual World Community Film Festival  (WCFF) newspaper at the Sid Williams Theatre box office in Courtenay and began to have a look at what films we want to check out for this year. Since we moved to the Comox Valley 3.5 years ago we have taken in the WCFF every year and this year’s lineup looks impressive again.  The WCFF runs February 2 and 3 this year so it is right around the corner and will take place at the Sid Williams Theatre, the Native Sons Hall and the Florence Filberg Centre.  The committee has selected over 30 films dealing with various social justice and environmental issues and some are as local as “Link Arms with Us” dealing with fish farming along the BC coast and “Vancouver: No fixed address” whose topic is pretty much self explanatory.  On the other end of the geographic spectrum are films like “The Silent Land” which takes place in Cambodia and deals with how small scale family farms are being taken over by large industrial farming operations. There is even a set of films for children which look interesting for kids of all ages.  

The World Community Film Fest attracts a large following

Since there are 4 venues showing films at the same time you can’t possibly see all the films but the good news is that if you join the World Community you can view the films you didn’t see by borrowing them from the film library at the Bayside Café opposite the Driftwood Mall in Courtenay. There will also be a Saturday bazaar in the Upper Filberg Hall in Courtenay which is central to where the films are being shown. Entry to the bazaar is free and the film festival admission is either $40 for the weekend or you can buy a daily pass for the Friday night feature film ($14) or all day Saturday ($26). You can order tickets on line at: www.sidwilliamstheatre.com. There is even a closing banquet for just $22. This year the meal will be a vegetarian feast with dishes from Morrocco, Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries. All in all it looks to be a great weekend with films that will inspire as well as raise awareness of what we need to change in the world around us.  For more information on the World Community see: www.worldcommunity .ca 

The bazaar is a chance to get a bite to eat and visit some of the booths that are set up

    

"Views of the Salish Sea" presents a varied history of the Salish Sea

   by Keith and Heather Nicol

Add this new book to your bookcase

     Views of the Salish Sea by Howard MacDonald Stewart is a new book that will appeal to a wide range of readers interested in the Salish Sea. With roughly 2/3rds of British Columbia’s population living near Georgia Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca (the Salish Sea) it is now one of the fastest growing places in Canada.  Historically it was also an attractive place to live and this has meant that there have been many changes that have occurred related to resources, interactions with first nations people, recreation and water pollution. The book focuses on a mix of these topics spanning the changes that have occurred in the last 150 years. Chapter headings include the sea as a barrier and highway, interactions with native peoples and early settlement, on shore activities like mining and forestry, fishing and aquaculture, the sea as a waste dump, and recreation on and along the Salish Sea. The final chapter deals with what the future might hold for this important body of water.

 The book will appeal to anyone interested in a history of this area from a variety of viewpoints. As newcomers to this area (we moved to Courtenay 3 years ago) we enjoyed seeing how local aspects of history fit into the larger narrative. For instance we like hiking and exploring the area around Union Bay (just south of Courtenay) and enjoyed seeing old photos of some of the coal washing infrastructure that was built in the late 1880’s on Baynes Sound.  Coal was mined in Cumberland and shipped out at Union Bay. Views of the Salish Sea links this activity at Union Bay to some of the other coal mining operations owned by the Dunsmuir’s in Nanaimo.

Heather at the old coal washing area at Union Bay

   We also enjoyed reading about Mack Laing (whose old house we have walked past many times near Brooklyn Creek in Comox) and how he promoted an appreciation of natural history. Evidently he was one of several naturalists and artists who were attracted to the Comox Valley for its beauty and wildlife. The book is also critical of how we managed resource extraction issues of over fishing or overharvesting of timber and how we have mismanaged municipal sewage and pulp mill effluent . The author reminds us that this attitude must change and “it is our duty to care for this place with the care it deserves”. Views of the Salish Sea is published by Harbour Publishing and is a worthy addition to your bookcase. For more information see: www.harbourpublishing.com

Mack Laing historic house along the Comox waterfront

Cross country skiing at Mount Washington was spring like on January 14th

by Keith and Heather Nicol

Sunny above with cloud below

     Initially we were not sure if we were going to go cross country skiing on Sunday, January 14^th at Mount Washington but when we saw the thick fog in Courtenay and the sunny skies on the MW web cams we couldn’t resist. One down side of weekend cross country skiing at MW is that it gets crowded and the parking lot can fill up quickly so we opted to arrive early. This proved to be a good bet since when we left in the mid afternoon we saw cars parked along the side of road almost to the Hawk Chair!

      But even if you had a bit of walk the skiing and the skiing and views would have been worth it. We mainly skied the trails Strathcona Park but the views from “Far East” were superb of the valley cloud/fog covering Georgia Strait while we were in the bright sun.  That trail is many people’s favourite and you can see why given the open skiing and expansive views. We joined up with one of our ski buddies Doug Rose and decided that with the soft conditions that classic skiing was the way to go. 

Doug Rose skiing along the Ponds Trail

   Another bonus is having lunch on the sunny deck of Raven Lodge with the views of Mt Albert Edward and the surrounding range in the distance. Temperatures reached 10 C on Sunday afternoon and seemed even warmer on the deck.There were lots of families up there sliding, skiing and snowshoeing and everyone was wearing a big grin. And you don’t have to ski or snowshoe to enjoy Raven Lodge- you can simply drive out the cloud and fog in the valley and have a meal in the sun! But be sure to check the web cams since it is not like this everyday.  The cams can be viewed at: https://www.mountwashington.ca/ at the top of the page and click on the Nordic cam to get views of the area around Raven Lodge area. 

The sunny deck and Raven Lodge was packed on Sunday, Jan 14

Keith skiing along "Far East" with the mountains of the BC mainland behind

Try the Coffee Cup drill to improve your classic and skate skiing

By Keith and Heather Nicol

Skiing with no weightshift

We just returned from teaching in the early season Supercamps that are held every year at Silver Star and Sovereign Lake located near Vernon in B.C.’s Interior. Supercamp offers cross country skiers a chance to get on snow early in the season and learn from some of the best instructors and coaches in North America (http://www.xcsupercamp.com/).  As an instructor at the most recent Supercamp I asked my participants what drill they thought improved their skiing the most and they frequently said the “Coffee Cup drill”. 

     We used this drill for skiers who had incomplete weight shift in both classic and skate skiing. By incomplete weight shift I mean that both skis stay in the snow as the skier pushes back. When applied to classic skiing the idea is to get skiers to hold the glide over one ski at a time as shown in the photo below. Bringing your hand up to our mouth as if you are drinking a cup of coffee really helps bring the body over the glide ski.  Once the feeling of solid weight shift is established you can try skiing without bringing your hand to your face. 

The Coffee Cup drill helps improve your weight shift and get over the glide ski

 The beauty of this drill is that it can also be applied to skate skiers who fail to get their body weight over the glide ski as shown here.  If you apply the coffee cup drill to skating you can now commit to each ski much more easily which really improves how long you can glide on each ski. Once the skier has the feeling of committing their body weight to each ski their glide improves immensely. So try the coffee cup drill if you have weak weight shift and it will do wonders for both your classic and skate skiing. Be sure to click on this link for a video which illustrates this drill- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYxxib1lhjU   For more cross country ski technique improvement videos see:https://www.youtube.com/user/k2nicol

The Coffee Cup drill can also be used for improving your skating